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A review by susiedunbar
We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss
5.0
Jesus Christ.
Those were my first words, out loud, as I read the last few words of this stunning book. Tears dropped from my eyes. It felt like actual hands were clutching my heart and pressing it deeper into my chest. I stared off into the distance for about 5 minutes. And I knew, as if I had always known, that this book had changed me a bit. Subtly, but still. I’ve read the line “we are all more than the worst thing we have ever done” in a few books of late. Yet, in this one, the “we” that encompasses Toby and Luke speaks to a part of our country, our collective community about which I have remained (willfully?) ignorant. I just don’t think I can do that anymore.
On a related note, I am so glad to have had NO idea drawn for me of the race or ethnicity of a single character in this book. It seems counterintuitive to say that, as I generally relish being able to perfectly picture the people in my stories. But it illustrated for me that HOW I envisioned them this time did just as much to enlighten my thinking and prejudice as anything. Very thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Those were my first words, out loud, as I read the last few words of this stunning book. Tears dropped from my eyes. It felt like actual hands were clutching my heart and pressing it deeper into my chest. I stared off into the distance for about 5 minutes. And I knew, as if I had always known, that this book had changed me a bit. Subtly, but still. I’ve read the line “we are all more than the worst thing we have ever done” in a few books of late. Yet, in this one, the “we” that encompasses Toby and Luke speaks to a part of our country, our collective community about which I have remained (willfully?) ignorant. I just don’t think I can do that anymore.
On a related note, I am so glad to have had NO idea drawn for me of the race or ethnicity of a single character in this book. It seems counterintuitive to say that, as I generally relish being able to perfectly picture the people in my stories. But it illustrated for me that HOW I envisioned them this time did just as much to enlighten my thinking and prejudice as anything. Very thoughtful and thought-provoking.